When it comes to her make-up she also enjoys experimenting and prefers to push style boundaries.

“Thandie never wants me to do a classic look,” explained make-up artist Kay Montano to British newspaper The Telegraph.

“Her dresses will be a bit bonkers, or asymmetric or mini. Never too demure, always with an edge, and we reflect that in her make-up.”

For the 2011 BAFTAs, Thandie went for an eye-catching fuchsia Monique Lhuillier gown.

With layers of ruched material, the 40-year-old wanted an extravagant beauty look to match.

“As the dress was pink satin, I wanted to make her punky,” Kay revealed.

“We wanted Grace Kelly - but via Warhol! [For the 2008 ceremony] I made it quite smudgy. The lip was just lip-balm, but I added pink cream-blusher to the cheeks to put a bit of health into the Gothic. Ultimately, a red-carpet look has to be beautiful.”

For this year’s bash, Thandie picked a black, lacy Louis Vuitton gown and let her hair tumble in tight ringlets.

She has no strict red carpet rules and often prefers to do her own hair.

“Thandie knows about her own hair. She often preps it herself with a half-hour blow-dry before arriving at a shoot,” explained Maarit Niemela, one of the few stylists Thandie uses.

“I've never done the same look on Thandie twice. She likes to play around. For the 2011 BAFTAs, she showed me her pink Monique Lhuillier dress, and as it made such a statement we decided to do an elegant but simple side parting and bun. For a modern twist I braided the bun into fishtails and plaited them together at an asymmetric angle so you could see it from the front, too.”

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